13pc households in disaster-prone areas: Report

About 43,61,261 households or 13 percent of the countrywide households and some 2,20,04,367 people or around 12.65 percent of the country's total population live in disaster-prone areas.

This was revealed in a report on 'Bangladesh Disaster-related Statistics 2015: Climate Change and Natural Disaster Perspectives' released at the NEC here on Sunday.

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal spoke at the dissemination ceremony as the chief guest while Secretary of the Disaster Management and Relief Division Md Shah Kamal, Executive Director of Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies (BCAS) Dr Atiq Rahman and chairman of Department of Disaster Science and Management of Dhaka University

Dr ASM Maksud Kamal as special guests.

Chaired by Secretary of Statistics and Informatics Division KM Mozammel Hoq, Director General of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Mohammad Abdul Wazed delivered the welcome address while statistician and disaster-related statistics specialist, United Nations, ESCAP, Daniel Clarke, spoke as a guest of honour.

The data of the survey were collected from some 1,43,980 households under 4,945 moujas under 64 districts through long a questioner, and it was one of the biggest sample survey conducted by the BBS in recent times.

The report findings showed that from 2009-2014, the financial loss of the households due to natural disasters has been estimated at Tk 1,84,247 million, including Tk 88,414 million, in the larger agricultural sector like crops, livestock, poultry and fisheries.

It also said had there been no loss in the household sector for these six years due to natural disasters, then the country's GDP growth on average would have been increased by about 0.30 percent every year.

The report showed that some 70.31 percent households in the disaster-prone areas are Kutcha homes followed by 17.44 percent households as semi pucca, 10.19 percent households as Pucca, 1.95 percent households as Jhupri and 0.11 percent as others.

It also revealed that about 95.23 percent of the main sources of drinking water in the disaster-prone areas is supply/pipe, shallow/deep tube-well, tube-wells while 4.77 percent of drinking water comes from ponds, wells and other sources.

Regarding toilet facility, the report said about 49.90 percent toilets in the disaster-prone areas are Pucca toilets, some 46.56 toilets are kutcha while 3.54 percent defecation happens in open space.

Among the members of the disaster-prone households, about 33 percent have passed class V while 33 percent of them did not take any education during their life.

Speaking on the occasion, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the country incurs around Tk 18,425 crore loss in six years due to various climate change impacts and natural disasters like flood, cyclone and coastal erosion.

He said the government has a plan to bring all the vulnerable coastal areas under permanent and strong embankments.

The Planning Minister also suggested the Planning Commission to take more development projects for the welfare of the disaster-prone areas and thus improve their socio-economic conditions.